Confusion In Anambra As Tribunal Reserves Judgment On Obiano Governorhsip Election

                     

Awka—The Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu Tuesday  ordered the restoration of all reliefs struck out by the Anambra State Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Awka during the pre-trial stages of the case filed by Senator Chris Ngige and All Progressives Congress, APC, seeking the cancellation of the November 2013 governorship elections in the state.

The court also threw out the appeal filed by the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, gubernatorial aspirant in the election, Chief Chike Obidigbo against the state governor, Chief Willie Obiano.
The court in an unanimous decision dismissed Chief Obidigbo’s case number CA/E/08/2014 for lack of merit.

Following Obiano’s nomination as APGA’s flag bearer for the election, Chief Obidigbo approached the Federal High Court sitting in Awka, praying INEC to recognise him as the authentic candidate of the party for the election.

The lower court ruled in his favour, mandating INEC to recognise him along with Chief Obiano as APGA candidates for the election but Obiano appealed against the judgement.

In the case of Ngige, the court also in another unanimous judgement, read by Justice Abdulkadir Jega upheld the grounds of appeal raised by Senator Ngige and APC counsels, led by Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN and Emeka Ngige, SAN.

Courtesy Vanguard

Report 2 from The Nation

Anambra Tribunal Reserves Judgment on Obiano

The Anambra State Elections Petitions Tribunal yesterday rounded off proceedings with all parties adopting their final addresses.

The case involved the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Chris Ngige, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), its candidate during the November 16th governorship election, Tony Nwoye, against the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

Others included the Independent National Electoral commission (INEC), Anambra State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Chief Willie Obiano, among others.

Emotions were high yesterday as the chairman of the tribunal, Hon. Justice Ishaq Bello, and his members, John Viko and Akintola Akinniyi, said they were touched for leaving Anambra.

Furthermore, they said the relationship with the counsel and the audience had touched them and  made them cry, adding that they were no longer advocates but policymakers.

 During the sitting yesterday, 12 senior advocates represented different parties at the tribunal.

They were Hassan Liman SAN and Ahmed Raji SAN for INEC; Rotimi Akeredolu SAN and Emeka Ngige SAN for APC and Senator Ngige.

Emma Ukala SAN, D.C Denwigwe SAN and Uchechukwu Ezechukwu  SAN were for Tony Nwoye.

Onyechi Ikpeazu SAN, Ken Mozie SAN and Emeka Anaenugwu SAN were for Obiano and APGA, while Patrick Ikwueto SAN and Osita Nnadi appeared for APGA.

Ngige, jointly with his political party as well as Comrade Tony Nwoye and his party had all urged the Anambra State Election Tribunal to sack Governor Obiano and conduct a fresh election in Anambra.

But Obiano and his APGA urged the tribunal to uphold the election results because the petitioners had not shown substantial impact on the election in their various cases.

These arguments were canvassed yesterday at the tribunal sitting in Awka, while adopting the summaries of final addresses of parties in three out of the four petitions currently before the three-man tribunal.

While addressing the tribunal, Emeka Ngige submitted that the 3rd respondent in the matter (Obiano) against the impending issue of disqualification “had failed totally”.

Ngige posited that the only person who could have established whether the 3rd respondent was culpable on the issue of multiple registration as well as giving false information to INEC in the course of nomination.

He contended that INEC, not having called any witness, abandoned the 3rd respondent to his fate and allowed his defence to collapse.

He, therefore, argued that that being the case, INEC –certified evidence before the court substantially and the pleading of the petitioners on EPT/AN/GOV/02/2013 and the evidence adduced by their witnesses on the matter remain unchallenged, unresponded to and uncontradicted.

This, according to him, was conclusive proof for Obiano to be disqualified and a fresh election conducted in Anambra State.

Ngige’s response was based on the submission of Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, representing Obiano in the matter who urged the tribunal to hold that the accusation of substance before the tribunal against his client was that “he submitted a forged document to INEC for the election”.

Buttressing Ngige’s argument, Rotimi Akeredolu SAN, urged the tribunal

to take a second look at Exhibit RR431 tendered by Obiano which he claimed was a transfer form for his voter registration particulars and discover that the title of the document was ‘CVR APPLICATION FORM’.

“My lord, DVR stands for Continuous Voter Registration, which means that it cannot be a transfer form, but an application for a new form.

“The form contains three sections and the 3rd respondent admitted that the completed and signed Section 1 of the document where in answer to a question if he had registered before, he wrote NO

“Therefore, his evidence contradicted his claim in the sense that only those who have registered before can transfer in the contrary, the form is meant for application for a new form and the tribunal is urged to find that as a fact”,  Akeredolu said.

INEC, represented by Hassan Liman SAN, noted in its submission that the petitioners failed to display the three concerned voter registers to establish through comparison how substantial the effect on the election was.

Report Three from Thisday

Anambra Elections Petitions Tribunal Winds Up, Adjourns for Judgment

The Governorship Election petition Tribunal sitting in Awka, the Anambra State capital, yesterday wound up proceedings in the petitions emanating from the November 16, 2013 governorship election. All the petitioners and respondents adopted their addresses.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate in the election, Senator Chris Ngige as well as the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Comrade Tony Nwoye had all filed petitions against the declaration of Chief Willie Obiano of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the winner of the election.

The petitioners also joined the INEC in their various petitions.
At yesterday’s sitting, however, all the petitioners and respondents’ Counsels were present at the Tribunal.

While submitting their written addresses for adoption, counsels to APC and Ngige, as well as those for PDP and Nwoye, Rotimi Akeredolu, (SAN) Emeka Ngige (SAN) Emma Ukala (SAN) D.C Denwige (SAN) and Uchechukwu Ezechukwu (SAN), variously urged the tribunal to cancel the election that brought Willie Obiano to Power for lacking in substantial compliance with both the constitution and Electoral Act, 2010 as amended and conduct a fresh election.

While addressing the Tribunal yesterday, one of the APC, and Ngige counsels, Emeka Ngige (SAN) submitted that the third respondent in the petition, Chief Willie Obiano against the impending issue of disqualification had failed totally.
He said that the only entity which could have established whether Obiano was culpable on the issue of multiple registration as well as giving false information as APGA candidate which combined effect was disqualification was the INEC.
He posited that the INEC not having called any witness abandoned the third respondent to his fate and allowed his defence to collapse, arguing that since that was the case, the INEC certified evidence before the court substantially and the pleading of the petitioners on EPT/AN/GOV/02/2013 and the evidence adduced by their witnesses on the matter remained unchallenged, unresponded to and un contradicted.
This he said was a conclusive proof for Obiano to be disqualified and a fresh election conducted in Anambra State.
Ngige was responding to the submission of Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN) counsel to Obiano who urged the tribunal to hold that the accusation of substance before the tribunal against his client was that he submitted a forged document to the INEC for the election.

Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) representing APC urged the Tribunal to take a second look at the Tribunal exhibit RR431 tendered by Obiano which he had claimed was a transfer form for his voter registration particulars and find that the title document was “CVR Application Form”
“My Lord, CVR stands for Continuous voter registration which means that it cannot be a transfer form, but an application form. The form contains three sections and the 3rd respondent admitted that he completed and signed section I of the document where in an answer to a question if he had registered before, he said .